The controversial naval tradition of claiming territory for a hegemonic power resulted in early theatrical performances within the Antarctic region and its surrounding Subantarctic waters. In January 1775, Captain James Cook performed a public spectacle within this tradition’s boundaries by naming and then annexing an uninhabited South Georgia Island.
Cook’s 1772-1775 expedition on the Resolution introduced a recurring thematic pattern within Antarctic performance – where the initial performative event rarely encountered its intended audience on-site. Cook’s performance was a perfunctory responsibility for his nation and would occur regardless of a local population’s presence. His performance demonstrated political and military agency, while continuing problematic historical undertones of occupation, ownership and subjugation which relate to this naval ceremony. The performance served as a historical marker for ongoing geopolitical debates surrounding the Subantarctic and Antarctic regions during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Yet, there is another potential reading for this performance on South Georgia Island. The scientists participating in the initial landing party and the crew members remaining on the Resolution simultaneously served as the sole audience of the historical event as well as future performers of an emerging Antarctic narrative through the recontextualization of the initial performance within their society. This presentation considers how elements within the Antarctic’s unique intersection of history, scientific discovery and performance can be better understood by decentring the performative spectacle away from the creation of a historical narrative positioning disputed Subantarctic and Antarctic territorial claims and towards an investigation of the ceremony’s creation of shared cultural memory which has persisted within Antarctic exploration.